Happy Birthday Will!
Can you believe he’s 9 years old today!?
Today & everyday I’m so proud to call this guy my son. He makes me proud in so many ways & I love him more than he knows. God once said of Jesus, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” (Matthew 3.17) As a father I can echo those words today about my son.
I don’t know what God has in store for him, but I have no doubt God will use him in a powerful way in His kingdom. It’s an honor to be his dad, to watch him grow, to teach him, lead him, coach him, correct him, challenge him, inspire him, encourage him, discipline him, love him & watch him become the man God is calling him to be.
As I think about this gift God has given us, here are ten things I pray today & that I pray often for my son.
Ten Things I Pray for My Son
1. Be Brave
Fear is a dominant theme in our culture & in the lives of many people. And we aren’t exempt. Anxiety can run high in our family & especially inside Will. It wasn’t a year ago that we were praying the test results would come back negative for melanoma. If you followed our journey then, you know that we had one foot rooted in faith & the other stuck in fear. But God taught us to be brave then & I pray it’s a lesson Will can carry forward in his life. “Don’t be afraid” is the most dominant theme in all of scripture. With God we have nothing to fear, because perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4.18)
2. Have a “Can Do” Attitude
So much comes easy for him, but there will be much he will have to work for. And I pray he is not ever afraid of hard work. That he will be willing to try things over & over again until he “gets it,” whatever “it” is. I pray that he won’t easily give up. That he will be resourceful, creative & that he will think outside the box. I pray that he’ll never have a defeatist attitude but that he will put in the time it takes to accomplish whatever the task is before him.
3. Be Teachable, Coachable
One of the attributes I respect most in others is this sense that you don’t know it all. You don’t have it all figured out. You’re always willing to listen, to learn. I pray that my son will have this same attribute. That he will always be teachable. Quick to listen. Quick to learn. I pray he’ll be that kid the coaches love because he’s coachable. He asks the right questions because he wants to get better. He’s not a know it all. He’s always willing to learn from others. At it’s heart, this is wisdom.
4. Be Humble
Humility isn’t high on most people’s radar. We live in a “get noticed” culture… sometimes at any cost. But there’s something to be said for someone who is truly humble. Someone who looks out for others before they look out for themselves. Someone who is slow to take credit but quick to point out the good others have done. Someone who is content to live a quiet life while consistently doing good for others. Someone who doesn’t require attention but enjoys helping others because it’s the right thing to do. Yea, humility is something I crave for my son.
5. Be a Follower
One of my former students says he’ll never forget the night that I told him he had to become a follower before he could become a leader. Truth is, he was already a leader. But my challenge to him was to become an even better follower of Jesus. So that as people followed his leadership they would be, as Paul once said, following him as he followed Christ. (1 Corinthians 11.1) I pray that my son would become an avid follower of Jesus of Nazareth. That he would, in every way, be his disciple.
6. Be a Leader
After learning to follow Jesus well, I do pray my son would be a leader. In many ways he already is. He never ceases to amaze me. Give him a room full of people & in five minutes he’ll have a game of baseball organized & going! I pray he’ll always have the confidence to lead well. Some people are born leaders. Some learn leadership. I pray he’ll have the best of both. I know the innate talent God has already given him & I’m excited to see how God will use him in the kingdom.
7. Take Care of our Girls
This is something we talk about a lot at our house. I want to teach my son to always look out for, protect & help his mom & his sisters. And then beyond that, women & girls in general. I want him to respect girls. Learn to treat them right. Always come to their defense. Always do what’s right. I want him to learn his responsibility as my son to always, always look out for our girls. Because that’s part of what being a man is all about.
8. Keep a Tender Heart
I remember when I was in high school an older man at our church came up to me one night, looked me in the eye & encouraged me to always keep a tender heart. He had seen me that night at church & noticed in me a tender heart for God. And those words have always stuck with me, to keep a tender heart. It’s so easy to have your heart hardened & calloused by this world. We’re constantly having to fight for our purity & integrity. We’re always under attack to give in to temptation & pressure. And it doesn’t take long to fall into those traps & then it doesn’t take long to become hard hearted toward life, your family, friends & even God. So I pray that my son will keep a tender heart.
9. Laugh Often
I pray my son doesn’t take himself too seriously. That he can laugh at himself. He already has one of the best smiles. We love to laugh a lot in our family. I pray that’s something he carries with him as he grows up. I’ve been working with teenagers for over 16 years. And at some point many of them stop smiling. They stop laughing. I know when they were kids they laughed a lot. But something changed. And I’ve worked with their parents for that same amount of time. And a lot of adults I know don’t laugh enough either! When did we get so serious? Laugh often my son! It will keep you grounded & fill your spirit with joy!
10. Remember Your Name
Yes, we are “those” parents. We gave our son an extremely long name. But it has rich meaning. William Luke Emmanuel Trevathan. William – your dad’s & his dad’s middle name. It means Strong & Mighty Warrior. That’s who you are. Luke – after your granddad who passed right before you were born. It means Worshipful. That’s your posture. Emmanuel – it means God with us. That’s your reminder – you are never alone. You have a lot to live up to in your name my son. But I pray you will always remember your name & what it means.
These are the things I pray for my son. I’m incredibly proud. I have a front row seat to the greatest show on earth. God at work in the lives of my kids. I’ve learned more about the love of God through becoming a father than I could have ever known before. As you pray for your children may God be gracious to you. May He use us to raise up this next generation to know Him, love Him & serve Him all their lives.
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